When you want to become a travel agent, there are numerous benefits and advantages that become available. Beyond being a vital part of an exciting industry, having a travel agent job gives you access to all kinds of travel and vacation perks not available to the general public.

To become a certified travel agent, there are certain steps you need to take. Meaning that the perks of being a travel agent lay outside the grasp of most….

But fear not. I’m going to show you the easiest and quickest way become a travel agent, and it will cost you close to nothing.

Read on…

Benefits of being a travel agent

First, let’s talk about what kind of benefits you can expect, whether you go the traditional route or use my suggestions.

For one, cruise operators give what are termed “travel industry rates” to legitimate travel agents. If you have a travel agent job and can verify it, you’ll get a great discount on any of the ships rooms. You can even bring somebody along with you, and they’ll enjoy the same discounted rate.

Also, hotels throw crazy discounts at travel professionals as well. This may be because they are hoping you tell your clients about their establishment. Ditto for car rental companies… even the big ones like Hertz and Enterprise. Discounts can range, although over 35% off is not uncommon.

When you do arrive at your destination, organized tour operators are also willing to hop on the “crazy discount” bandwagon. Just like with hotels and car rentals, discounts ranging from 20 to 40% are not unheard of.

You also may or may not have heard of something called a familiarization trip. This is, hands down, one of the best perks the travel agent can get. A familiarization trip (or FAM trip for short), are special trips aimed at “familiarizing” travel professionals to new offerings from hotels, cruise companies, tour operators and hotel chains.

Think time share meetings for Disney tickets… anywhere in the world….. without the annoying sales pitch at the end.

The discounts you get on FAM trips are ridiculous, and the minute you become a travel agent you’re eligible. It’s not unheard of for travel professionals to book family vacations around familiarization trips… saving boatloads of money in the process.

Last benefit is probably the best: the money you can make. The take home pay of some agents is staggering. When you are making 70% on bookings, getting performance bonuses, and still enjoying the mountains of auxiliary benefits it’s easy to see why so many are clamoring to join a travel agency.

How to become a travel agent

My personal recommendation is to check out the courses offered at Amazon.com. They are written by industry experts, many with over 5 decades travel industry experience. Beyond that, they are also the least expensive way to learn how to become a travel agent.

One mini-set in particular I’ve heard nothing by good things about. It’s a three part set, unadvertised on Amazon itself. You can read about the three sections at the link below.